Hellas Verona’s South Korean forward Lee Seung-woo is reportedly filing a lawsuit against local Italian commentators for saying he eats “dog rolls” on live TV.
According to the Korean Edition of football publication Goal, the young left winger is suing the unnamed panelists from a local broadcasting program for defamation.
The racist remark, which refers to a stereotype that Asians love eating dogs, was reportedly made after he had just made his pro debut goal earlier this month vs. AC Milan.
“[The commentators] have harmed my honor and my image as a professional footballer,” Lee was quoted as saying. “It was a sneaky, vulgar attack motivated not by my football performance, but by my belonging to a specific ethnic group. It’s extremely denigrating and humiliating to me and to those in my native country, my people and my land.”
While there have been previous cases of racial discrimination against Asian footballers playing in Europe, Lee Seung-woo is the first to ever take legal action.
Lee, who joined Italian club Hellas Verona last year on a €1.5 million ($1.75 million), four-year deal, was recently revealed to be part of South Korea’s national football team roster for the World Cup.
He will see action on Monday as South Korea goes up against Honduras at Daegu Stadium in Daegu, South Korea for a tune-up game.
Featured image via YouTube/FFAN
